August 28, 2019 - Pittsburgh City Paper

PITTSBURGH’S ALTERNATIVE FOR NEWS, ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT SINCE 1991

J Meet the ar tist behind the celebrit in Shadysid y portraits e’s Market District

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FIRSTSHOT

BY JARED WICKERHAM

Ian Smith, founder of SurfSUP, exploring the Oakmont islands during a stand-up paddleboarding tour

650 Smithfield Street, Suite 2200 Pittsburgh, PA 15222 412.685.9009 E-MAIL info@pghcitypaper.com

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AUG. 28-SEPT. 4, 2019 VOLUME 28 + ISSUE 35 Editor-In-Chief LISA CUNNINGHAM Associate Publisher JUSTIN MATASE Director of Operations KEVIN SHEPHERD Managing Editor ALEX GORDON Senior Writers RYAN DETO, AMANDA WALTZ Staff Writers HANNAH LYNN, JORDAN SNOWDEN Photographer/Videographer JARED WICKERHAM Digital Media Manager JOSH OSWALD Editorial Designer ABBIE ADAMS Graphic Designers JOSIE NORTON, JEFF SCHRECKENGOST Events and Sponsorship Manager BLAKE LEWIS Senior Account Executive JOHN CLIFFORD Sales Representatives KAITLIN OLIVER, NICK PAGANO Office Coordinator MAGGIE WEAVER Events and Marketing Coordinator BRYER BLUMENSCHEIN Circulation Manager JEFF ENGBARTH Featured Contributors REGE BEHE, LISSA BRENNAN, LYNN CULLEN, TERENEH IDIA, CHARLES ROSENBLUM, JESSIE SAGE Intern JARED MURPHY Office Administrator RODNEY REGAN National Advertising Representative VMG ADVERTISING 1.888.278.9866 OR 1.212.475.2529 Publisher EAGLE MEDIA CORP.

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COVER PHOTO: JARED WICKERHAM READ THE STORY ON PAGE 6

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CP PHOTOS: JARED WICKERHAM

Rachel Renaudin poses with her Justin Timberlake-inspired artwork at the Giant Eagle Market District in Shadyside.

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THE BIG STORY

ART IN THE AISLES

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BY HANNAH LYNN // HLYNN@PGHCITYPAPER.COM ALKING INTO MARKET DISTRICT, Giant Eagle’s more upscale grocery

store brand, shoppers might be greeted with a painted portrait of Bradley Cooper in the 2011 thriller Limitless looming over a display of Limitless caffeinated sparkling water. Throughout the rest of the store, there are more hand-painted signs for fruit, cheese, bread, and other products. Outside of public view, in the back of every Market District store, is a studio where artists hand-paint signage, produce, and celebrity portraits.

Rachel Dawn Renaudin is the visual merchandiser at the Market District in Shadyside. She painted the Bradley Cooper portrait, and along with a graphic artist, Dawn Petryk, she’s in charge of making all the hand-painted signage, typography, and thematic displays in the store.

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ART IN THE AISLES, CONTINUED FROM PG. 7

SERVICES Services are offered to everyone, regardless of identity, income, or insurance status.

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Renaudin’s house is filled with her paintings (not the ones from Market District — those stay in storage, or are raffled off to employees). At work, she uses acrylic paints, but in her free time and for freelance work, she specializes in oil painting. There is a room in the house used only for storing and showing off paintings, and a basement she uses as a personal studio. In the living room, there’s a large and detailed painting of a vintage Mr. Potato head display in a toy store. Under that, there’s a blue-hued portrait of John Mayer on stage with Dead & Company. There’s an extreme close-up on a woman’s face with marbles floating in front of it, and another of a bright sunset, and another of a friend who underwent a double-mastectomy, scars and all.

Currently, Renaudin has a few pieces at the Latrobe Art Center and periodically shows elsewhere in the city.

Before she worked at Market District, Renaudin worked as an instructor at the Monroeville branch of Painting with a Twist, a paint and sip studio. Before that, she waited tables for a while after graduating from Edinboro University.

Before that, she lived with her family, including three brothers, in a trailer home in Townville, a town(ville) in northern Pennsylvania with a population under 1,000 (“Ville means town so I’m from towntown,” she says). She was homeschooled until the age of 15 when her father died, and then started going to high school, where she became heavily involved with the arts program. “If I ever had a study hall, I was in the art room,”

she says.

Sometimes Renaudin gets commissioned to paint portraits or pets or cars.

Last year, someone had her paint John Stamos’ head to hang in his game room (Stamos liked it on Instagram, in case you’re wondering).

Her paintings are distinct for their close detail and vivid colors, especially in portraits, which is one of her favorite things to paint. “It will never get tiring for me to paint flesh because I love and am drawn to color and flesh reflects so much color,” Renaudin says. “Depending on how the light hits your face and where the sun is, everything’s gonna change color. We have muscle and we have blood and it all connects where you can get this limitless canvas of colors.”

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RACHELRENAUDIN.COM District job when she can, like with the celebrity portraits, which first began with a painting of Christopher Walken after he appeared in a Super Bowl commercial for Bai infusion drinks with Justin Timberlake (#baibaibai). People don’t usually expect a corporate grocery store to have an off-beat sense of humor, like using a painting of Lionel Richie to sell tea with “Hello. Is it tea you’re looking for?”

“I think that’s a lot of times why people love the celebrities,” she says.

“It’s captivating and it’s strange, but then it’s humorous that it ties in with the whole theme of the display.”

Hand-painted signs in grocery stores are not unique to Market District; stores like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods – ones that want to convey an artisanal or

curated quality – also have them. While it does involve lending artistic talent to a large corporation, the job is a rare one for artists, especially with a background in fine art. There are few full-time jobs in Pittsburgh that would pay an artist to paint every day. And the corporate side of Giant Eagle isn’t going to object to the more creative signs, like using a painting of Log Lady from Twin Peaks to sell actual logs, because it’s the most Instagrammable thing in the store.

For Renaudin, sharing her art on social media is a cool bonus, but she prefers them to be seen face-to-face. “Although our phones are so great at capturing all the different facets, life is so rich and I wanna bring that with my paintings,” she says. “My paintings are definitely meant to be seen in person.”

Follow staff writer Hannah Lynn on Twitter @hanfranny

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Washington Pride’s logo

.NEWS.

PREJUDICE AND PRIDE

Washington County to hold its first LGBTQ Pride festival

BY RYAN DETO // RYANDETO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

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OUTHWESTERN Pennsylvania isn’t the friendliest place for LGBTQ people. In all the counties bordering Allegheny, it is still legal to fire, evict, or deny public accommodation to someone merely because they identify as LGBTQ — and many aren’t even aware of it. That’s why Kathy McCully Cameron, co-founder of the Washington Gay Straight Alliance, says it’s so important for the LGBTQ community and its allies to have a visible presence in these counties, even if they risk repercussions.

On June 27, 2020, the small city will hold its first ever Pride celebration in the Community Pavilion in Washington’s downtown. Cameron made this announcement on Aug. 22, in front of a crowd of about 100 allies and LGBTQ people in Washington, according to Washington County’s Observer-Reporter.

“We just feel it is time to have more viability and celebrate the community,” says Cameron. “It has been a difficult

road. Washington County has no protections, so we have been a bit more hesitant.

But maybe the way to make change is to let people know we are here.”

Cameron says this festival has been the culmination of more than a decade of work, with progress coming slow.

While her organization has been more involved publicly like participating in the Whiskey Rebellion events and marching in Washington’s Christmas parade, the Pride festival will mark a significant step forward for the community’s presence and visibility.

“I have been involved in this passion for the last 14 years,” says Cameron. “We need to make a change for the community to be not just tolerated, but accepted and embraced.”

Cameron says many people in Washington County assume that LGBTQ people are covered by the protections of federal civil rights laws. But the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964 doesn’t include

sexual orientation or gender identity as protected classes, and in states and municipalities that haven’t updated their local ordinances, LGBTQ people lack those same protections.

A statewide bill to give LGBTQ Pennsylvanians non-discrimination protections has languished in Harrisburg for years since Republicans in charge of committees have failed to bring the bill up for a vote. This year, a national bill to give all LGBTQ Americans nondiscrimination protections passed the U.S. House, but Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has declined to bring the bill to the U.S. Senate floor.

According to a 2017 Hart Research poll, more than 53 percent of Pennsylvanians support making it illegal to discriminate against LGBTQ people in employment and housing situations, while only about 25 percent oppose it.

Cameron hopes the festival will not only celebrate the community and its

Follow Ryan Deto on Twitter @ryandeto

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allies, but also inform the vulnerabilities that LGBTQ people endure in the legal system. Luckily, she is getting some high-profile support to spread that message.

To announce the festival, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D-Braddock) was on hand not only to offer support for the Pride celebration, but also to pressure lawmakers to support the creation of LGBTQ non-discrimination laws.

“To me, it’s always been equal protection under the law, nothing less, nothing more,” Fetterman told the Observer-Reporter on Aug. 22. “You can’t be fired or denied employment or services based on who you love or how you identify. That’s just wrong.”

Cameron says additional announcements about the festival will be forthcoming, and Washington Pride will soon be soliciting for entertainment and vendors for the city’s inaugural LGBTQ festival.

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.FOR THE WEEK OF AUG. 29

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNY // INFO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Shogun is a bestselling novel about an Englishman who transforms himself into a samurai warrior in 17th-century Japan. Written by James Clavell, it’s over 1,100 pages long.

Clavell testified that the idea for the story sprang up in him when he read one line in his daughter’s schoolbook: “In 1600 an Englishman went to Japan and became a samurai.” I suspect it’s highly likely you will soon encounter a seed like that, Virgo: a bare inspiration that will eventually bloom into a Big Thing.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran athlete Mickey Mantle is in Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame. He had a spectacular 18-year career, winning the Most Valuable Player Award three times, playing in 12 World Series, and being selected to the All-Star team 16 times. So it’s astounding that he played with a torn ligament in his knee for 17 years, according to his biographer Jane Leavy. She quoted an orthopedic surgeon who said that Mantle compensated for his injury with “neuromuscular genius.” I’m thinking that in the next few weeks you’re in a position to accomplish an equivalent of Mantle’s heroic adjustment.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Most people who belong to the Church of Satan neither believe in nor worship Satan. (They’re atheists, and don’t believe in the supernatural.) I think a comparable principle is true for many rightwing fundamentalist Christians. Their actions and words are replete with bigotry, hard-heartedness, materialism, and selfishness: so contrary to what the real Jesus Christ taught that they in effect don’t believe in or worship Jesus Christ. I mention this, Scorpio, in hope of inspiring you to take inventory of whether your stated ideals are reflected in the practical details of how you live your life. That’s always an interesting and important task, of course, but it’s especially so for you right now. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to purge any hypocrisy from your system and get your actual behavior in close alignment with your deepest values.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): It’s the right time for you to create a fresh mission statement and promotional campaign. For inspiration, read mine: “My column ‘Free Will Astrology’ offers you a wide selection of realities to choose from. With 4,212 years of dedication to customer service (over the course of my last 13 incarnations), I’m a reliable ally supporting your efforts to escape your oppressive conditioning and other people’s hells. My horoscopes come with an ironclad guarantee: If the advice you read is wrong, you’re under no obligation to believe it. And remember: a panel of 531 experts has determined that ‘Free Will Astrology’ is an effective therapy for your chronic wounds and primordial pain.

It is also dramatic proof that there is no good reason to be afraid of life.”

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Here are good questions for you to meditate on during the next four weeks. 1. How can you attract resources that will expand your mind and your world? 2. Are you bold enough to reach out to wise sources and provocative influences that could connect you with useful tricks and practical treasures?

3. What interesting lessons can you stir up as you explore the mercurial edges, skirt the changeable boundaries, journey to catalytic frontiers, and make pilgrimages to holy hubbubs?

4. How best can you encourage lyrical emotion over polished sentimentality? Joyous idealism over astringent zealotry?

Exuberant integrity over formulaic kindness?

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “It is the beginning of wisdom when you recognize that the best you can do is choose which rules you want to live by,” wrote author Wallace Stegner, “and it’s persistent and aggravated imbecility to pretend you can live without any.” That will be an excellent meditation for you during the coming weeks. I trust you are long past the time of fantasizing you can live without

any rules. Your challenge now is to adjust some of the rules you have been living by, or even dare to align yourself with some new rules – and then completely commit yourself to being loyal to them and enjoying them.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Given the astrological omens that will symbolize your personal story in the coming weeks and months, I think Piscean author Nikos Kazantzakis articulated the perfect prescription for you.

I invite you to interpret his thoughts to fit your circumstances.

“We’re going to start with small, easy things,” he wrote.

“Then, little by little we shall try our hand at the big things. And after that, after we finish the big things, we shall undertake the impossible.” Here’s an additional prod from Kazantzakis: “Reach what you cannot.”

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Here are examples of activities I recommend you try in the coming days. 1. Build a campfire on the beach with friends and regale each other with stories of your most interesting successes. 2. Buy eccentric treasures at a flea market and ever thereafter refer to them as your holy icons. 3. Climb a hill and sit on the grass as you sing your favorite songs and watch the moon slowly rise over the eastern horizon. 4. Take naps when you’re “not supposed to.” 5. Sneak into an orchard at night and eat fruit plucked just moments before. 6. Tell a beloved person a fairy tale in which he or she is the hero.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The hardiest creature on the planet may be the bacterium known as Deinococcus radiodurans. It can endure exposure to radiation, intense cold, dehydration, acid, and vacuum.

I propose we make it your power creature for the coming weeks. Why? Not because I expect you’ll have to deal with a lot of extreme conditions, but rather because I think you’ll be exceptionally robust, both physically and psychologically. If you’ve been waiting for the right time to succeed at demanding challenges that require you to be in top form, now is a good time to do it. P.S. Deinococcus radiodurans is colloquially referred to as Conan the Bacterium, borrowing from the spirit of the fictional character Conan the Barbarian, who is renowned for his strength and agility.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In the yearly cycle of many Geminis, retreating into a state akin to hibernation makes sense during the end of August and the first three weeks of September. But since many of you are highenergy sophisticates, you often override your body’s signals.

And then nature pushes back by compelling you to slow down.

The result may be a rhythm that feels like constantly taking three steps forward and two steps backward. May I suggest a different approach this year? Would you consider surrendering, even slightly, to the invitation to relax and recharge?

CANCER (June 21-July 22): If you decide to travel to a particular place via hot air balloon, you must be prepared for the possibility that your route will be indirect. At different altitudes, the wind may be blowing in different directions: toward the east at a hundred feet high, but toward the southwest at two hundred feet. The trick for the pilot is to jockey up and down until finding a layer that’s headed toward the desired destination. I see your life right now as having a metaphorical resemblance to this riddle. You have not yet discovered the layer that will take you where you want to go. But I bet you will soon.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Considering how bright you have been burning since the Flame Angels designated you as the Hottest Cool Person of the Month, I hesitate to urge you to simmer down. But I must. Before there’s a meltdown in your vicinity, please lower your thermostat. Not a lot. Just a little. If you do that, everyone will continue to see your gleaming charisma in the best possible light. But don’t you dare extinguish your blaze. Don’t apologize for your brilliant shimmer.

The rest of us need your magical radiance.

Go to realastrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny’s expanded weekly audio horoscopes and daily text-message horoscopes.

The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700

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.NEWS.

SOUTH SIDE _________ MONROEVILLE MALL

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FIRM DROPS COLCOM FOLLOWING NEW YORK TIMES REPORT

BY RYAN DETO // RYANDETO@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

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AST WEEK, the New York Times published a bombshell investigation into the financial giving of the late Cordelia Scaife May and the foundation she created, the Pittsburgh-based Colcom Foundation. Times reporters uncovered letters, interviews, and documents detailing the anti-immigrant and white nationalist sentiments May espoused and the support she gave to antiimmigrant groups through Colcom.

Following the report, a wealthmanagement firm that consulted on Colcom’s hundreds of millions in assets has dropped the foundation as a client.

Tiedemann Advisors spokesperson Julie Dunnington confirmed to Pittsburgh City Paper that the wealth-management company is no longer working with Colcom. She says Tiedemann didn’t have knowledge of who Colcom was making grants to, and upon learning of the information published in the Times, the company severed ties with Colcom.

“Tiedemann does not work with Colcom currently,” says Dunnington.

“Tiedemann previously served as an investment consultant with no role, input or knowledge of their grant making priorities. Upon learning, we resigned the client. Several of their policies are inconsistent with our views on diversity, equity and inclusion.”

According to Tiedemann’s website, one of the company’s values is Diversity and Inclusion, which boasts that

Tiedemann believes “all voices, regardless of background, gender, race, lifestyle, and affiliations, should be equally welcomed and respected in the workplace,” and that it “embraces equality of opportunity for all and treat every individual with fairness and dignity.”

In a letter to the editor published by the Times yesterday, Colcom’s vice president wrote that Colcom “supports public education for an informed civic dialogue about the longer-term sustainable level of immigration,” and insists that this “conversation not be marred by racial bias.” Rohe said in a statement to CP that “the Foundation has no tolerance for any acts of discrimination.”

According to the Times, Colcom is worth $500 million and has given more than $150 million to fund anti-immigrant causes since 2005. The majority of Colcom’s philanthropy each year goes to national anti-immigrant groups, included some that are deemed hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The remaining Colcom funds usually go to local environmental nonprofits. When Pittsburgh immigrantrights groups discovered this last December, they successfully pressured Colcom to remove its signage from the Downtown Holiday Market.

An interview published on Tiedemann’s website in May says the firm has around $18 billion under advisement. Tidemann’s website says it has $1.7 billion from

endowments and foundations under management, and the firm has offices in eight states and Washington, D.C. Colcom has defended its giving by attempting to link environmental problems to increased immigration into the U.S. In Colcom’s nonprofit application to the IRS, May wrote that environmental groups were “doomed to failure” if they didn’t understand “that the degradation of our natural world results ultimately from the press of human numbers.”

This rhetoric around “overpopulation” has since been co-opted by white nationalists, including some groups receiving funds from Colcom, and was cited as a primary motivation of the mass shooters in New Zealand and El Paso. These two mass shootings happened in countries with low population densities. If the U.S. were as densely populated as Europe, the country would have one billion residents, instead of 325 million.

The Times article also reported that Colcom provides funding to VDare, a white nationalism website operating out of Virginia. BuzzFeed News reported last Thursday that the U.S. Department of Justice sent an email to federal immigration court employees that included a link to a VDare article that “directly attacks sitting immigration judges with racial and ethnically tinged slurs.” NBC News reports the DOJ said the link was included in the email mistakenly.

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THIS WEEK ONLINE AT PGHCITYPAPER.COM

CP PHOTO: LISA CUNNINGHAM

MEET THE LAWRENCEVILLE PERFORMANCE ARTIST BEHIND THE WHEEL OF PITTSBURGH’S “QUEER CAR” The spray-painted car is being shared on social media as an act of vandalism. But is it?

JENSORENSEN

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.RESTAURANT REVIEW.

SQUARE CAFÉ

BY MAGGIE WEAVER MWEAVER@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

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QUARE CAFÉ opened in 2003, and

from the outset, owner Sherree Goldstein wanted it to be “about more than just flippin’ eggs.” Good food was a good start, but she also prioritized genuine connection with her new neighbors. Goldstein’s space is open for events, serves as a gallery for city artists, and has partnerships with charitable nonprofits. Over 10 local vendors, farmers, and producers are showcased on the cafe’s seasonally changing menu. It’s all a part of Goldstein’s mission to serve both “meals and love.”

When I stopped by the cafe on an early August morning, the front door was perpetually swinging with guests filing in and out to get their morning caffeine. Neighbors stopped to chat while tables filled up with regulars.

Square Café’s menu caters to all tastes, packed with a number of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options. None of the dishes go too far out-of-the-box, but offer just enough excitement to keep things interesting.

Breakfast brings a mix of savory and sweet, offering classics like a breakfast burrito and veggie omelet and a touch of creativity from restaurant specialties. For lunch, the cafe offers crepes, burgers, sandwiches, and wraps, along with a few salads.

Like any good breakfast spot, Square Café has a long list of coffee drinks.

Typical combinations — espresso, lattes, mochas, which the cafe calls “tried and true” — made the list, but that was just the beginning.

For non-caffeine drinkers, the cafe has milkshakes, blended smoothies, and steeped matcha with honey and

CP PHOTO: JARED MURPHY

Nutella Crepes at Square Café

SQUARE CAFÉ 1137 South Braddock Ave., Regent Square. square-cafe.com

lavender. There is an entire section of topped espresso (the most delicioussounding is a double shot topped with whipped cream), and a list of specialty lattes with names like last unicorn, nuts

‘bout you, and flaming s’mores. I chose the salty chai, a bourbon-tasting drink with sea salt, caramel, vanilla chai, and espresso.

The words “life, love, liberty, and the pursuit of pancakes” cover the cafe’s food menu. After one bite of their lemon berry ricotta pancake, I understood why. The lemon berry ricotta cake was thin yet still fluffy, dotted with blueberries and dusted with powdered

FAVORITE FEATURES: Nancy B’s

Eggs

Sherree Goldstein Day

It turns out Nancy B’s famous chocolate chip cookies can be found outside of Homestead.

Look for them at the cafe’s bar.

According to the Square Café website, they go through 6480 eggs every week. That’s a lot of eggs.

Last year, the city declared May 16, the cafe’s anniversary, “Sherree Goldstein Day.”

sugar. Lemon, reinforced by the citrusy butter, wasn’t lost in the batter and added a memorable zing to the sweet cake. It was delicious.

My well-done crab and red pepper frittata fell flat compared to the Brussels and grits bowl, one of the cafe’s featured items — a mound of Brussels sprouts over cheesy grits with bacon, onions, and mushrooms, crowned by an over-easy egg. The smart, balanced combination of its two title ingredients and add-ons make this a truly unique breakfast dish.

Square Café knows how to do breakfast right. The bright cafe isn’t as simple as a diner but also isn’t too precious or extravagant; it’s the perfect in-between.

Square Café has mastered the morning middle ground.

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Follow staff writer Maggie Weaver on Twitter @magweav

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d e h c n u r B

t s e b e h t r e h t e : g n o o t i s g s i n i m g e n i n r o b . r h s e t i i v r o w e g p n n a w a o P h t y s n ’ t i i h s C g t r n u a r B u e a t h s t e re r u c o t e t i un TICKETS AT WWW.COOLTIX.COM

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.ON THE ROCKS.

THE PROOF IS IN THE PASTRY

BY MAGGIE WEAVER MWEAVER@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

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HE CASES AT Eliza Bowman’s bakery

are full of alcohol. But there are no bartenders, cocktails, or highballs at the small Point Breeze shop — it’s all in the pastries.

At Prohibition Pastries, Bowman incorporates craft spirits into her sweets (save for a few, such as her Grandmother’s sticky bun recipe). The shop opened two and a half years ago, after a short stint in the Pittsburgh Public Market running the first version of her bakery, Eliza’s Oven.

The solo baker comes from a “very Irish” background, “which means everything has a little bit of whiskey in it,” she laughs, and her bakery reflects that heritage. Prohibition Pastries has made a name for itself with Bowman’s boozy takes on classic English and Irish recipes.

Though Bowman infuses her recipes with alcohol, don’t expect a buzz from these treats. Vanilla extract, the baker notes, contains about 30 to 40 percent alcohol; she is simply substituting the extract with actual spirits. By baking with booze, she draws out flavor without the side effects. Biting into a barleywine pretzel (made with East End Brewing’s barleywine style ale), tastes like sipping a malty, sweet beer.

Baking with alcohol requires persistence; Bowman chalks up her successes to relentless trial and error. Some recipes, like for bread, are made for alcohol.

It’s already a wet dough and doesn’t need fat for texture. She can do a

FRESH HANDMADE FOOD LOCAL CRAFT BEER DAILY SPECIALS

CP PHOTO: MAGGIE WEAVER

PROHIBITION PASTRIES 7105 Reynolds St., Point Breeze. prohibitionpastries.com

complete swap of alcohol for the liquid a recipe calls for, and the dough will still be balanced.

Cake, on the other hand, is trickier.

A cake needs fat. Bowman has had to develop loopholes in order to add

alcohol and keep the intended texture. Even a small addition of a hazy IPA, which contains more yeast than the average brew, can make a cupcake explode in its tin. Cookies present an entirely different set of issues because there’s no liquid in the batter. Bowman resorts to alcohol extracts — like a simple syrup — to make spirited cookies.

On any given day, there’s a fullystocked bar baked into the shop’s pastries.

Bowman always has a few staple items

— a chocolate and stout combination, a wine olive oil bread, beer cheese hand pies, and something with whiskey — on the menu, but otherwise, the pastry and spirit list rotates. She’s constantly exploring new combinations (lime and IPA and anything with gin or wine are her favorites).

Prohibition pastries are available in the East End store, a handful of local stores, and at the Bloomfield and Lawrenceville farmer’s markets.

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Eating Happily.

Leaving with Smile.

DINING OUT

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TOOK TOOK 98 2018 MURRAY AVE., SQUIRREL HILL 412-422-6767 / TOOKTOOK98.COM Eating Happily. Leaving with Smile.

The True Taste of Thai. Our goal is to provide the highest customer satisfaction as well as offering authentic Thai street food with Thai environment.

Therefore, we have been working hard to bring exceptional dine-in experience to you. We offer variety of authentic Thai food, drinks, and desserts including smiling full-service with BYOB.

BAJA BAR & GRILL 1366 OLD FREEPORT ROAD, FOX CHAPEL 412-963-0640, WWW.BAJABARGRILL.COM The Baja Bar & Grill is the perfect destination any time of the year for dancing to live bands and taking in great entertainment every weekend.

In addition, there’s good food along with amazing views of the Allegheny River and the Fox Chapel Marina.

BEA’S TACO TOWN 633 SMITHFIELD STREET, DOWNTOWN 412-471-8361, WWW.BEATAQUERIA.COM Authentic Mexican cuisine in the heart of Downtown Pittsburgh! Bea Taco Town offers tacos, burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, and much more all with traditional recipes. Slow cooked meats and fresh vegetables prepared daily will have you coming back to try it all.

THE CAFÉ CARNEGIE 4400 FORBES AVE., OAKLAND 412-622-3225 / THECAFECARNEGIE.COM An excellent dining experience from James Beard Semi-Finalist, Sonja Finn featuring a locally-focused menu, full service dining, and espresso and wine bar.

CARMELLA’S PLATES & PINTS 1908 EAST CARSON STREET, SOUTHSIDE 412-918-1215, CARMELLASPLATESANDPINTS.COM Featuring an upscale ambiance, Carmella’s is located in the heart of South Side, serving a variety of refined comfort cuisine for dinner and brunch. The décor features a lodge-like feel with a wood beamed cathedral ceiling, stained glass and open fireplace. A local purveyor delivers fresh ingredients daily, which are crafted into unique and inventive meals, served alongside a curated cocktail list and comprehensive wine selection.

COLONY CAFE 1125 PENN AVE., STRIP DISTRICT 412-586-4850 / COLONYCAFEPGH.COM Whether stopping in for a weekday

lunch, an afternoon latte or after-work drinks with friends, Colony Cafe offers delicious house-made bistro fare in a stylish Downtown space.

EIGHTY ACRES 1910 NEW TEXAS ROAD, MONROEVILLE/PLUM 724-519-7304 / EIGHTYACRESKITCHEN.COM Eighty Acres Kitchen & Bar offers a refined, modern approach to contemporary American cuisine with a strong emphasis on local, farm-totable products.

ELIZA HOT METAL BISTRO 331 TECHNOLOGY DRIVE, PITTSBURGH 412-621-1551, ELIZAHOTELINDIGO.COM Set on the site of former iconic iron works, Eliza Furnace, Eliza is an American Bistro exploring classic Pittsburgh flavors, beloved by those that worked the furnaces, combined with the fresh perspective and seasonal sourcing that define what we eat in our region today. Relax with great food, cocktails, and enjoy live entertainment on the rooftop bar.

LEON’S CARIBBEAN 823 E WARRINGTON AVE., ALLENTOWN 412-431-5366 / LEONSCARIBBEAN.COM Family owned and operated since December 2014. Here at Leon’s, we take pride in our recipes and quality of dishes. Simple menu with all the traditional dishes! Leon Sr. has been a chef for 30+ years, mastering the taste everyone has grown to love and can only get at Leon’s.

MERCURIO’S ARTISAN GELATO AND NEAPOLITAN PIZZA 5523 WALNUT ST., SHADYSIDE 412-621-6220 / MERCURIOSGELATOPIZZA.COM Authentic Neapolitan pizza, artisan gelato, and an inviting atmosphere are just a small

part of what helps create your experience at Mercurio’s Gelato and Pizza in Pittsburgh.

It’s not your standard pizza shop; in fact, this isn’t a “pizza shop” at all.

PAD THAI NOODLE 4770 LIBERTY AVE, BLOOMFIELD 412-904-1640 PADTHAINOODLEPITTSBURGH.COM This new café in Bloomfield features Thai and Burmese specialties.

Standards like Pad Thai and Coconut Curry Noodle are sure to please. But don’t miss out on the Ono Kyowsway featuring egg noodle sautéed with coconut chicken, cilantro and curry sauce.

The True Taste of Thai

2018 MURRAY AVE. PGH, PA 15217

412-422-6767

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SUPERIOR MOTORS 1211 BRADDOCK AVE., BRADDOCK 412-271-1022 / SUPERIORMOTORS15104.COM Thoughtfully prepared food, drawing inspiration from Braddock, its people, its history, and its perseverance.

The cuisine best represents the eclectic style which has become a trademark of Chef Kevin Sousa. Fine dining in an old Chevy dealership with an eclectic, farm-to-table menu and a community focus.

TOTOPO MEXICAN KITCHEN AND BAR 660 WASHINGTON ROAD, MT. LEBANON 412-668-0773 / TOTOPOMEX.COM Totopo is a vibrant celebration of the culture and cuisine of Mexico, with a focus on the diverse foods served in the country. From Oaxacan tamales enveloped in banana leaves to the savory fish tacos of Baja California, you will experience the authentic flavor and freshness in every bite. They also feature a cocktail menu of tequila-based drinks to pair the perfect margarita with your meal.

Dr. Stacy Lane, D.O. • 412-515-0000

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• ALL INSURANCES ACCEPTED • WALK INS WELCOME • tRANSPORATION PROGRAM • NO INSURANCE? WE CAN HELP

NoRTH SHORE LOCATION 127 Anderson Street - Suite 101 Timber Court Building, PIttsburgh, PA 15212 Phone: (412) 322-4151

WASHINGTON, PA LOCATION 95 Leonard Avenue - Suite 203 Washington PA 15301 Phone: (724) 249-2517

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER AUG. 28-SEPT. 4, 2019

19

THE LOCAL 913: BRIGHTSIDE

BY LIZ FELIX // LIZ@WYEP.ORG

The band Brightside has had a few stops and starts. The Pittsburgh quartet signed with a label for their first album; they were touring nationally and making new music but that label, Broken World Media, went bust. The band ended up taking an indefinite hiatus, which luckily turned out not to be permanent.

“Basically, we just practiced and decided how we were going to approach the next album and took some time to think about what we actually like in music,” says frontman Matt Vituccio about their recent reunion. “We STAY UP-TOtried to focus DATE WITH THIS on making this WEEK’S LOCAL album as much MUSIC NEWS of what we WITH CP MUSIC want to get WRITER JORDAN to the public SNOWDEN as possible.”

The album is AND WYEP named for a year EVENING MIX that had a big HOST LIZ FELIX impact on the Listen every band: 2012. “I Wednesday think culturally, at 7 p.m. on a lot of things were changing,” 91.3FM WYEP says Vituccio. “A lot of things in music and art were changing and we were kind of on the outside of that looking in and had a lot to say about it. It was a year that shaped how we view what we want to do with music and let us see a lot of what we do and don’t like.”

In the past, they’ve (maybe unfairly) been clumped in with “emo,” but what does Brightside sound like in 2019? I hear the melancholy jangle-pop of The Cure on a fun new single called “Just Like Dancing.” I suspect there are more good songs to come from Brightside on 2012. •

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CP PHOTO: JARED MURPHY

Ky Vöss

.MUSIC.

HAPPY ACCIDENTS

BY JORDAN SNOWDEN // JSNOWDEN@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

P

OP ARTIST AND producer Ky Vöss

had no intention of living in Pittsburgh. The Austin-native was on a cross-country road trip when her car broke down in the ‘Burgh almost two years ago, forcing a temporary relocation.

With little money, no place to live, and no connections in the city, Vöss spent a month sleeping in her car at night and hanging in coffee shops during the day — as long as she had money to purchase a drink to stay. Otherwise, she was out on the street, bracing the cold and wet Pittsburgh fall weather.

While those circumstances may have broken some, it proved as a growing opportunity for Vöss. She decided to make Pittsburgh her home, created a new persona, and channeled her experiences into her first album, Space Cadet, which dropped in May. “I really fell in love with the gothness of the city,” says Vöss. “Those super gloomy rainy vibes really inspired the darkness of the album. It was a really heavy time, [but] I was excited to be in a new place and be allowed to feel things.

A lot of the sounds are really deeply

KY VÖSS WITH PEARL CRUSH, BRITT, AND CLEANUP HITTER 7 p.m. Sun., Sept. 1. The Government Center, 519 E. Ohio St., North Side. $5. facebook.com/pg/KyVossOfficial

influenced by the industrial nature of Pittsburgh.”

Eventually, Vöss’ car broke all the way down and she began couch-hopping until she was lucky enough to receive donations from “a few really cool people.”

“I don’t even know how it happened,” she says, “I had enough to put down a down payment on my first apartment. When I moved in, I just kind of sat on the floor in the middle of the room and cried for a couple of hours.

I didn’t have heat there for the first month, and it was December. But I was so, so happy to be in my own space.”

Vöss finally had a home, and she had also found a home in the local music scene. Although at first, just like getting that apartment, it was not an easy task.

In Austin, you can walk outside down-

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“A LOT OF THE SOUNDS ARE REALLY DEEPLY INFLUENCED BY THE INDUSTRIAL NATURE OF PITTSBURGH.” town to find shows happening on every block on every night of the week; in Pittsburgh, Vöss had to find out about shows through friends of friends. However, once she figured it out, her induction into the Pittsburgh music scene was swift.

“I started meeting people who were like, ‘Oh, you play music? You should play a show with me,’” says Vöss. “People are so kind here. As soon as they found out that there was a new Pittsburgh musician, I felt very welcomed right off the bat.”

Besides the friendly nature, the diversity in the music scene was another reason Vöss was drawn to Pittsburgh.

“It was a lot more experimental and creative than I was used to, and I found that really inspiring,” she says. “In Austin, it’s a lot more saturated and filled with a lot of artists that just kind of sound the same. It’s great, people are doing what they love, but they seem to stick within a certain cookie-cutter Austin band stereotype.”

Vöss didn’t fit that mold. A classically trained violinist, she started producing after she realized she didn’t need an entire orchestra to make music. Her music is pop, infused with electronic, but is all based on chord structures

she’s seen in classical pieces, with lyrics and themes about addiction, abuse, sex work, poverty, and homelessness.

“Every song directly relates to personal experiences that have deeply affected me,” says Vöss. “The final track on the album, ‘Swallow the Batteries,’ is about the process of accepting the trauma that permanently lives in my brain and learning how to coexist with it.”

When Vöss left Texas, it was an attempt to run away from that trauma, her “old self,” and upon landing in Pittsburgh, she created the Ky Vöss persona, one that seems like it’s hiding something, yet is vulnerable though art.

Looking at Space Cadet’s album cover, or scrolling through Vöss’ promotional photos, her face is rarely seen, covered by her hands, cloth, or scratched out like childhood graffiti in a yearbook.

“It makes creating and communicating through music a lot easier for me,” she says. “When I hide my face, I feel more of a connection to that character. Ky is a coping mechanism and masking myself gives me the illusion of having more room to express myself. … I’ve always wanted anything that I made to be more about the content, and less about the creator.”

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER AUG. 28-SEPT. 4, 2019

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PHOTOS: DOM POMPOSELLI

One800 and Abie L.

.MUSIC.

SESSION PLAYERS

BY JORDAN SNOWDEN // JSNOWDEN@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

M

Y FAVORITE COLOR and his production team One800 — Cody Maimone,

Jeremy Rosinger, and Dom Pomposelli — create music with no preconceived ideas. The rapper (real name Anthony Willis) has been working with them since the four graduated from California University of Pennsylvania, and from the start, their process began by simply showing up at Maimone’s garage.

“We sit down with nothing,” says Maimone. “I’ll pick up a guitar; maybe Dom will get on the keys and Jeremey will get on the drum pad. I’ll maybe start playing some chords, and we’ll find a vibe, and then Willis will be like, ‘I like that’ … from there we’ll just kind of throw music at the wall while Willis writes.”

That collaborative process is what inspired One800 to start The Pittsburgh Sessions project. Over the course of the summer, 20 local artists entered Maimone’s garage and left with a brand new track.

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“We feel there’s really no better way to get a genuine song,” says Maimone.

“And we wanted to do that with people in the city and challenge ourselves.”

Beside wanting to branch out in the local scene, The Pittsburgh Sessions also came about because the One800 team had a realization. After finishing up Velma — My Favorite Color’s upcoming studio album set to drop this fall — the guys started thinking they might not be in Pittsburgh in six months.

Up until the sessions, My Favorite Color was the only musician One800 ever worked with. They didn’t have the desire, nor the time, to focus on other projects. But with the finalizing of Velma, and My Favorite Color’s decision to move back to his hometown of Los Angeles — he officially made the move a few weeks ago — their mindset shifted.

“Before, we were looking at it like we still wanted to grow as artists and producers and engineers,” says Maimone.

“But we did that [collaborative, workfrom-scratch] process for two or three years with Willis and got so much better and made so much music we thought, ‘What if we did this with other artists?’

We wanted the opportunity to work with artists that we believe in and have

One800 and Linwood

been inspired by in the city.”

Two mismatched couches facing each other, a tapestry showcasing trees and stars on the ceiling, string lights running the perimeter, a few soundabsorbing panels on the wall: Benji., PK Delay, Sierra Sellers, Linwood, Clara Kent, Abie L., Pet Zebra, livefromthecity, and more local talent stepped into

One800s makeshift studio over the last months to participate in The Pittsburgh Sessions. For many, it was the first time they met the One800 team in person, and they were coming together to create music, with zero presets. Those first-time interactions, however, made collaboration easier.

“It’s human nature, the first time

Follow staff writer Jordan Snowden on Twitter @snowden_jordan

you meet someone, you want to put on a good impression,” says Maimone.

“There’s this very strange energy of, like, you almost want to prove something to each other. I think that is a great chance to make something very unique and outside the box for both of you, because the way that you know each other is based on music, and it’s almost like you want to perform for each other.”

Overall, though, the process with each was laid back but focused, directed by the musician’s mood and energy. They had the map, and One800 was driving.

“The second that I can read that the artist isn’t vibing with it or [liking] what I am playing, immediately I’ll start veering off into another idea,” says Maimone.

The Pittsburgh Sessions are now complete and One800 is in the process of mixing and mastering the project, which will be released as an album this fall about two weeks after Velma makes its debut.

“It’s a cool opportunity for the city as a whole to shine a light on all the different styles and all the different artists that are in the city,” says Maimone. “It would be really cool if someone found this project and was like, ‘Wow, those artists all came from Pittsburgh?’”

•

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER AUG. 28-SEPT. 4, 2019

23

SEVEN DAYS OF CONCERTS CITY PAPER LIVE | SUMMER CONCERT SERIES FRI., AUG. 30 All summer, Allegheny Country Parks hosted food trucks, craft beer, and an abundance of local and national talent at Hartwood Acres Park and South Park Amphitheater for its summer concert series. The series closes out the summer with City Paper Live, a local music showcase featuring up-and-coming artists curated by, you guessed it, Pittsburgh City Paper. Going with a hip-hop theme, Abstract Theory, Back Alley Sound, and BBGuns will all be taking the stage for the final event. This show may also be the last time BBGuns fans get to see the duo perform, as last week the group announced an indefinite hiatus.

7:30 p.m. 100 Farmshow Drive, South Park Township. Free. Search “City Paper Live Summer Concert Series” on Facebook PHOTO: CORY PITKAVISH

BBGuns

FULL LIST ONLINE pghcitypaper.com

THURSDAY AUGUST 29 FUNK AFRO N’AT. Thunderbird Café & Music Hall.

8 p.m. Lawrenceville.

RAP KRAYZIE BONE. Crafthouse Stage & Grill. 8 p.m. Whitehall.

JAZZ

R&B

THOTH TRIO. Kingfly Spirits.

7 p.m. Strip District.

STARSHIP MANTIS, LIVEFROMTHECITY, CLARA KENT. Thunderbird Café & Music Hall.

8 p.m. Lawrenceville.

FRIDAY AUGUST 30 FESTIVAL THE NOVELTY COLLECTIVE 2019.

The COVE Art Center.

5 p.m. Avalon.

ROCK

BLUES

BLUES TRAVELER. Rivers Casino.

8 p.m. North Side.

THE CONTENDERS. Cioppino Restaurant & Cigar Bar. 7 p.m. Strip District.

THE GODDAMN GALLOWS, KOFFIN KATS. Mr. Smalls Theatre.

7 p.m. Millvale.

METAL MASSIVE SCAR ERA, A NOTION OF SILENCE. Mr. Roboto Project.

7 p.m. Bloomfield.

COVERS NIGHTRAIN (GUNS N’ ROSES TRIBUTE).

Jergel’s. 8 p.m. Warrendale.

BONNEVILLE (ROCK).

Club Cafe. 7 p.m. South Side.

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G. LOVE, SPECIAL SAUCE. Roxian Theatre. 8:30 p.m. McKees Rocks.

METAL WHITETHRASH, CONFLICT CYCLE. SUB Alpine Society.

7 p.m. Turtle Creek.

HEAVY ASS SHINDIG. Preserving Hardcore. 7 p.m. New Kensington.

FOLK REMNOSE, PADDY THE WANDERER, NATIVE ALLOYS. The Government Center.

7 p.m. North Side.

COUNTRY STAMPEDE. Crafthouse Stage & Grill.

9 p.m. Whitehall.

THE CLARKS. Rib Fest. 7:30 p.m. North Side.

ROCK DERIDER (ALBUM RELEASE).

Spirit. 9 p.m. Lawrenceville.

SQUEEZE, KT TUNSTALL. Carnegie Library Music Hall.

8 p.m. Homestead.

MODEL ROCKETS, THE VICS, GHOST PARTY. Club Cafe.

10 p.m. South Side.

CLASSICAL ROGER HARVEY, THE HIGH LIFERS. Brillobox. 8 p.m. Bloomfield.

REGGAE THE FLOW BAND. Chief’s Cafe. 8 p.m. Oakland.

SATURDAY AUGUST 31 FESTIVAL THE NOVELTY COLLECTIVE 2019.

The COVE Art Center.

10 a.m. Avalon.

FWD FEST. Mr. Roboto Project.

6 p.m. Bloomfield.

JAZZ

TONGUE ‘N CHEEK. Crafthouse Stage & Grill. 9 p.m. Whitehall.

DANCING QUEEN. Baja Bar and Grill. 8 p.m. Fox Chapel.

ACOUSTIC ROGER GELIK. Knucklehead’s Bar. 9 p.m. Ross.

METAL HEAVY ASS SHINDIG. Preserving Hardcore.

7 p.m. New Kensington.

THE TRUDY HOLLER TRIO. Cioppino Restaurant & Cigar Bar. 7 p.m. Strip District.

DEAD ANIMAL ASSEMBLY PLANT, THE DESTRUCT PRINCIPLE. Hambone’s. 10 p.m. Bloomfield.

STEEL CITY CALYPSO. Wolfie’s Pub. 8 p.m. Downtown.

ELECTRONIC

LYNN SPEAKMAN QUINTET. Backstage Bar. 5:30 p.m. Downtown.

COVERS THE MCCARTNEY PROJECT. The Palace Theatre.

7:30 p.m. Greensburg.

ELEANOR WALRUS AND FUNGUS (BEATLES VS. THE GRATEFUL DEAD).

Thunderbird Café & Music Hall.

8 p.m. Lawrenceville.

DIS FIG, IVVY, MALZOF. Hot Mass. 12 a.m. Downtown.

HOUSE PLANTS. Spirit.

9 p.m. Lawrenceville.

JIMMM PRESENTS WOW. Remedy Restaurant and Lounge.

10 p.m. Lawrenceville.

ROCK NORTHERN GOLD. Get Hip Record Store.

8 p.m. North Side.

WAVE TRAILS, YARO AND THE STATIC. The Smiling Moose.

5 p.m. South Side.

BAD CUSTER, MINOR MOON. Club Cafe. 10 p.m. South Side.

COUNTRY BRANTLEY GILBERT. KeyBank Pavilion. 7 p.m. Burgettstown.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 1 ELECTRONIC BRAD TRUMAN, DA/NA. Lock Wall One Marina. 7 p.m. Strip District.

PUNK SUNDRESSED, SAFE BET. The Smiling Moose.

6:30 p.m. South Side.

S Y Z Y G Y X, TRAGIC IMPULSE. Mr. Smalls Theatre. 8 p.m. Millvale.

ROCK AS CITIES BURN. Crafthouse Stage & Grill. 6:30 p.m. Whitehall.

UPROOTED WITH MICHAEL GLABICKI. Hartwood Acres Park.

5 p.m. Allison Park.

PHOTO: EVA ROBERTS

THE LIVING STREET ALBUM RELEASE SHOW

The Living Street

FRI., AUG. 30 In June, Pittsburgh City Paper released its annual Music Issue in which we asked a few established musicians and bands to recommend a local act the city should take note of. Greg Joseph, bassist in The Clarks, selected The Living Street. “[They] are the hardest working musicians in Pittsburgh,” explained Joseph. “These guys are doing the hard work to market, promote, and tour. They have a great new album coming out; it’s produced by one of Pittsburgh’s best producers, Jake Hanner. Why haven’t you seen them locally? They are always on the road looking at the big picture.” It’s true. The Living Street has now played in 94 cities in the U.S. and Canada since hitting the road in 2017, but Pittsburgh is their home, and on Friday the duo releases their sophomore album, It Won’t Last, with a release show at Club Cafe. 6 p.m. 56 S. 12th St., South Side. $15. clubcafelive.com LOBBY BOXER, BOYCAT, GOOD GRIEF. Howlers. 8 p.m. Bloomfield.

PLANNING FOR BURIAL, DROWSE, BRING HER. Mr. Roboto Project.

7 p.m. Bloomfield.

SIGNALS MIDWEST (RECORD RELEASE).

Spirit. 9 p.m. Lawrenceville.

RAP/HIP HOP COLD HART, HORSE HEAD. Rex Theater. 6:30 p.m. South Side.

COUNTRY ELI YOUNG BAND. Rib Fest. 7 p.m. North Side.

JAZZ RESERVOIR OF JAZZ. Highland Park.

5 p.m. Highland Park.

MULTI GENRE HELLO!3D, BEAGLE BROTHERS, JAH QUES. Weather Permitting.

5 p.m. Shady Side.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 2

JAZZ

PUNK

FOLK

YOWLER, TRACE MOUNTAINS. Mr. Roboto Project.

7 p.m. Bloomfield.

METAL SCATTER SHOT, NO GOOD DEED. Preserving Hardcore.

6 p.m. New Kensington.

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 3 BLUES LEANNE, RAJMA. Wolfie’s Pub. 6 p.m. Downtown.

PUNK SILENCE IN THE SNOW, DOORS IN THE LABYRINTH. Gooski’s.

10 p.m. Polish Hill.

LYNN SPEAKMAN QUINTET. Katz Plaza. 5 p.m. Downtown.

ROD PICOTT. Club Cafe. 7 p.m. South Side.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 4 ELECTRONIC JASON CALHOUN, AUTUMN POOL. The Government Center.

8 p.m. North Side.

PUNK TITUS ANDRONICUS. Spirit. 7 p.m. Lawrenceville.

RICHIE RAMONE. Crafthouse Stage & Grill.

7:30 p.m. Whitehall.

COUNTRY FAIRGROUND SAINTS. Club Cafe. 7 p.m. South Side.

These listings are curated by Pittsburgh City Paper’s music writer Jordan Snowden and include events from our free online listings. Submit yours today at www.pghcitypaper.com/submitevent PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER AUG. 28-SEPT. 4, 2019

27

.EVENT.

TEA TIME

BY AMANDA WALTZ AWALTZ@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

A

FTER COMING out as queer, Silas Maxwell Switzer craved a space .in Pittsburgh where he could express himself creatively with other queer people. There was only one problem — as far as he could tell, no such place existed.

So he decided to make one.

About a year ago, Switzer, along with Robyn Goodfellow and Gray Valentine, founded Queerpunk Slamjunk in an effort to provide safe, welcoming spaces where LGBTQ youth can come together to develop and express their creative sides. The Facebook page for Queerpunk Slamjunk emphasizes that the project celebrates “radical and uncensored selfexpression” and works to prioritize the voices of trans youth and youth of color.

“Not only did we want to create a space that was safe for queer youth to express themselves, we wanted to create a space that was free of any adult or parental figures as well,” says Switzer.

“We wanted to give the community a space to say what they wanted, how they wanted, and to be met with ringing support from the people in attendance.”

On Sept. 1, Queerpunk Slamjunk will host its first tea party, a fun potluckstyle event where guests can sip tea, both iced and hot, share food, and play games in Flagstaff Hill at Schenley Park.

The tea party adds to the series of open mics Queerpunk Slamjunk has hosted at The Big Idea Bookstore in Bloomfield.

Goodfellow agrees with Switzer that while there is a “caring and welcoming community of queer youth in Pittsburgh,” the city lacks youth-led, “genuinely non-judgmental” activities,

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PHOTO: QUEERPUNK SLAMJUNK

Queerpunk Slamjunk, left to right: Robyn Goodfellow, Silas Maxwell Switzer, Gray Valentine

events, and spaces, which makes groups like Queerpunk Slamjunk all the more essential.

In order to better serve the community, Queerpunk Slamjunk is open to ages 12 to 25, an aspect Valentine says distinguishes it from other LGBTQ-focused groups and activities in the city.

“Many queer social outlets in Pittsburgh are strictly age-segregated, meaning they either have an age cap at 18 or 21, or they’re an alcoholic space where no one under 21 can enter,” says Valentine. They believe this severely

THE QUEERPUNK SLAMJUNK TEA PARTY 2-5 p.m. Sun., Sept. 1. Flagstaff Hill, Schenley Park, Frew St., Oakland.

Free. Registration required. thequeerpunkslamjunk.carrd.co

limits social circles for LGBTQ minors and young adults.

Currently, the completely donationbased Queerpunk Slamjunk is fundraising to apply for legal nonprofit status,

which would allow them to apply for grants. Valentine says their longterm goal is to have a physical drop-in venue that includes a maker space, after-school events, and other resources for LGBTQ youth.

But for now, they’re looking forward to hosting their first tea party.

“This will mark the first event that we have had outside of our open mics, and we are incredibly excited to see how it turns out,” says Switzer. “If this tea party is received well by the community, we would love to make it a regular event.”

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CP PHOTO: JARED MURPHY

.MUSIC.

Pete Spynda at the Shadyside Nursery

BACKSTAGE

BY LISSA BRENNAN // CPCONTRIBUTORS@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

Name: “Pandemic Pete” Spynda, Bloomfield Expatriate Work: Event producer, DJ, and promoter: Pandemic Dance Party, Weather Permitting, Pittonkatonk, Pittsburgh Abides, and 25 Carrick Ave WHAT DO YOU DO ALL DAY? A little bit of long term, a little bit of short term, a little bit of intermediate stuff. For Pittonkatonk, I’m in grantwriting mode, identifying staffing positions, putting out feelers to artists.

Weather Permitting is this afternoon.

Do I need to pick up bottled water? Do we have enough wristbands, change for the door? I have to write a press release for Pittsburgh Abides. I’m starting to think about September and October.

I’m bringing a band from Peru that are older gentlemen so [they] need accommodations I can afford and they’re comfortable with. I have to think about promoting that event because the guarantee is high, so I have to stir up enough people to come out.

SO IN ADDITION TO THE LOGISTICS, THERE’S DRAWING AN AUDIENCE. Largely I work with artists who are not mainstream, from pocket-niche, world-music cultures. That requires

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almost twice as much work because I’m trying to create that audience. I think one of the biggest roles I play is hyping someone largely unknown or underknown here. Last month I brought a band from Mali. No one knew who they were, they were amazing musicians, and everyone who came was, “That was the best show I’ve ever seen!” I need to be able to get that word out to let people know, “This might be the best band you’ve ever seen.”

AND SOMETIMES YOU’RE DEVELOPING AN EVENT FOR A SPECIFIC AUDIENCE? With Weather Permitting, my daughter was 4 and had been to outdoor concerts.

By the time bands started, it was too late or there was just nothing for her to do. I wanted to create something for friends with kids who don’t get bored, because there’s a sandbox, hula hoops, a big giant Jenga. I was able to curate to entertain kids but not with kids’ bands, with music adults want to see.

That’s how I consider myself more of a promoter. I’m not someone you plug into a venue and say, “OK, go.” I need to take the situation into consideration.

HOW DID YOU START? Collecting world music, playing in bands, sharing practice space with a couple other guys all talking about throwing a dance party. At the time, 2005, there were very few options — Strip District clubs and ’80s nights. We were relentless [in putting] together something different outside the mainstream. We would never go to dance clubs, but we wanted to dance to this music. We just started doing it not knowing anything, figured we’d try it a couple times and see what [happened]. Then I kept doing it.

FOR A PRETTY LONG TIME. Pandemic, almost 14 years. Weather Permitting, we’re finishing up our seventh season, Pittonkatonk has been around seven years as well.

AND HAS EVOLVED SIGNIFICANTLY. First, it was a hundred people in a garage. When we decided to bring more bands, we took it to a park. Public space, centrally located, shelter, picnic tables, the most cost-effective way of creating the event. Cool, we’ve got six or seven local bands, three or four international bands, we’ll see you in the park.

Eight thousand people came this year. How the hell do you prepare for that? “How many port-a-potties do you need?” What? Originally you just reserved the pavilion, now you’ve got to get a special-events permit, hire police officers, think about insurance, and risk assessment, and more port-a-potties.

I think this is what people don’t realize when it comes to event producing.

That’s part of the job, that’s what every day is for me. And after every single event I think about what I can do to make that event a little bit better.

•

.STAGE.

GEM OF THE OCEAN

BY ALEX GORDON ALEXGORDON@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

A

NYONE FAMILIAR with August Wilson’s The Pittsburgh Cycle knows about 1839 Wylie Avenue.

In reality, it’s a mostly vacant lot on a steep, grassy slope in the Hill District, but in the Cycle, it’s nothing so ordinary. This is the home of the neighborhood spiritual healer Aunt Ester, a place where friends, family, strangers, and neighbors can find refuge, a bed and hot meal, maybe a spiritual cleanse.

While references to Aunt Ester and 1839 Wylie are found throughout the Cycle, it’s not until Wilson’s Gem of The Ocean — published in 2003, set in 1904 — that Ester and the house take center stage. And so it’s only fitting that Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company is performing the play at the actual 1839 Wylie Avenue, with a one-room, openair stage tenuously perched on a steep slope overlooking the Lower Hill.

The story features Ester’s caregiver Eli (Les Howard) and housekeeper Black Mary (Candace Michelle Walker); her friends Solly Two Kings (Kevin Brown) and Rutherford (Marcus Muzopappa); and Mary’s menacing brother Caesar (Wali Jamal), a police officer with a mean streak. The characters (minus Caesar) have an easy chemistry that suggests a tight-knit community and many long nights spent shooting the shit in Ester’s parlor. But the plot is

PHOTO: JES BOGDAN

1839 Wylie Ave.

GEM OF THE OCEAN PRESENTED BY PITTSBURGH PLAYWRIGHTS THEATRE COMPANY AND AUGUST WILSON HOUSE Continues through Sun., Sept. 22.

1839 Wylie Ave., Hill District. $37.50. pghcplaywrights.org

set into motion by a new arrival called Citizen Barlow (Jonathan Berry), who’s recently left his home in Alabama under shadowy circumstances. He’s come to Ester for absolution, though he’s not sure what that might look like.

Ester, it turns out, is 285 years old

(this being 1904, that would put her birth year at 1619, a pointed year in the history of the slave trade in the U.S.).

She has an all-knowing, comforting way of talking, but she’s much more than a charismatic speaker. As the program explains, “Aunt Ester is the ultimate ancestor, the conduit for all the history of Black America.” And it’s in this context that Ester’s role — inside and outside the confines of 1839 Wylie — becomes clear. Her mystical powers are vague, but the specifics don’t matter. Ester has knowledge and a spirit that transcend the constraints of time and place.

And so Ester takes Citizen on a spiritual

Follow managing editor Alex Gordon on Twitter @shmalexgordon

journey on the slave ship the Gem of the Ocean to a watery graveyard called the City of Bones. Director Andrea Frye stages the scenes of magical realism with a light hand, letting the setting — watching characters in 1904 as cars whiz by below — convey the surreality on its own. Not all stories are better experienced in their literal settings, but for a piece this richly bound to and inspired by its location, the approach is incredibly powerful. The set is so effectively insular, so at odds with its surroundings, that it feels that Ester could, if she wanted, snap her fingers and detach the room from its soil and send it sailing into the sky. That doesn’t happen, but what does is almost equally fantastic, unbelievable, and affecting.

•

The 5th Judicial District of T Pennsylvania and Allegheny County Pretrial Services urges you to enjoy your weekend out in Pittsburgh but

make the right choice,

don’t drink & drive.

SHOP • SHOOT • TRAIN • ENTERTAIN

Indoor range • Self Defense • Brazilian Jiu Jitsu • Fitness • Full Retail store

L i v e Wi th C o n f i d e n ce . co m

724.759.7571 PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER AUG. 28-SEPT. 4, 2019

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.FASHION.

CLOTHES MAKE ...

BY TERENEH IDIA CPCONTRIBUTORS@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

Name: Zachary Brown Artist and Local Degenerate I LOVE YOUR HOUSE, TELL ME ABOUT IT. I call it The School House, a live/work artist space [with gallery]. Originally it was the John Munhall Neighborhood House, and it has pretty much been everything at one time. It was a school, then a youth community place up through the earlier 1980s, and then it was a building supply place until the Waterfront moved in.

DO YOU HAVE ONGOING EXHIBITS IN THE GALLERY SPACE? Sometimes just as an artist pop-up that I enjoy — Justin Emmanuel Dumas, whose work is absolutely killer and he’s such a sweetheart himself. I don’t think of it as a gallery it is more like a cocktail hour and I want to show people artists I really like.

WHAT IS YOUR CONNECTION TO PITTSBURGH? Conceived here and grew up in Mars.

MARS, PA.?

Yes, my mom loves when I tell that story.

[Laughs] Yep, grew up in Mars but visited Pittsburgh a lot to play in bands.

It felt like a low-level Batman teen by day and hanging out in bars at night.

We played at places like Club Cafe and Gooski’s — we were always accompanied by adults. [Laughs] WHERE DID YOU GO TO ART SCHOOL? Rhode Island School of Design. After that, I went to New York for grad school, then realized I didn’t want to be in New York. Pittsburgh is fun, it has its secrets, there are ghosts, valleys, and places that [make it] feel like your city.

SO TELL ME WHAT YOU’RE WEARING? Well, I spend a lot of time at St. Vincent de Paul [thrift store] — these are actually Pittsburgh throw-back Gimbels [trousers] and I just got them tailored to fit a little better. I have this great towel upstairs that my mom almost put in the rag pile. It says, “Pittsburgh is fun” with a cartoon [Pittsburgh] landscape, [and the

CP PHOTO: TERENEH IDIA

Zachary Brown

only building with branding] is Gimbels.

If it is on a beach towel, you know it is true. [Laughs] The five-pack Jockey t-shirts. The shoes are old wingtips I got from the thrift store and then re-soled. The treads are new. A great guy, shout out to Wexford shoe and leather repair, he does a great job.

WHAT ELSE? I had the old fez hat on earlier. I like to find fraternal club things — Oddfellow stuff, Order of the Owl, Mason stuff — the trappings are kind of fun.

[LONG SIGH ...]

In high school, I pierced my nipple in the art room paper closet.

ARE YOU WEARING ANYTHING THAT IS A GIFT FROM SOMEONE? The earring is a gift from [my partner] Erin. She also got me this great hand hat pin, like a Victorian elegant hand.

It looks creepy and fun. I guess the goal is kind of to join the Addams Family. The Addams Family motto, something like, “We gladly feed upon those who subdue us.” It is a great family motto.

NO YOU DIDN’T! Oh yeah, I was an edgy kid with two studded belts with a lot to prove. [Laughs]

A GIFT TO YOURSELF THAT YOU PARTICULARLY LIKE? A gift is being able to drive out to St.

THE EARRING IS VERY COOL ...

Just a little silver in the ear for good luck.

I pierced it back in middle school with a safety pin in the boys bathroom.

Follow featured contributor Tereneh Idia on Twitter @Tereneh152XX

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Vincent De Paul in Butler. Finding vintage men’s clothes can be fairly difficult because men tend to wear clothes until they are unwearable. One addiction I have is vintage men’s coats — they are made well with great, old world wool that is just tough to beat.

These were the Sunday clothes so they can be in good condition; they took care of them.

WHAT ARE CHALLENGES AND FUN ASPECTS OF FINDING VINTAGE MENSWEAR? If you can find something that fits you in the shoulders, you can get the rest tailored.

So spend like $10-15 on a suit [and] $50-60 bucks on tailoring, [then] you have a wonderful, unique piece with great material.

•

TUNE INTO YOUR ARTISTIC SIDE THIS FALL WITH CITY PAPER Live Box Art Wednesdays, September 4 and 11, 12-1 p.m.

Watch artist and City Paper’s Editorial Designer Abbie Adams live paint a newspaper box in Market Square at City Paper Live. Help paint a community art box too!

Fall Guide Wednesday, September 11 Featuring our curated list of the best arts and entertainment events this season

Coloring Issue Wednesday, September 25 An issue full of surprises with coloring pages spread throughout the entire issue

Coloring in the Square at Night Market Saturday, September 28, 5-10 p.m.

Join us in Market Square to color in the Coloring Issue and win great prizes!

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER AUG. 28-SEPT. 4, 2019

33

CP PHOTOS: AMANDA WALTZ

Ally Orlando’s “No Mo Drama,” pencil, ink, and paint on paper, 2019

.ART . .

MUTANT MEDIA

BY AMANDA WALTZ // AWALTZ@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

W

ALKING INTO Mutant Media,

the latest exhibition at SPACE Gallery, the art comes with a certain, vaguely recognizable atmosphere. On one wall are drawings

by Ally Orlando and comic strips by Samuel Ombiri, all of which look more

suited to a high schooler’s notebook or bedroom wall, an effect emphasized by the absence of framing. At the back of the gallery, VHS covers, record sleeves, and trading cards for fake ’80s movies — all by Los Angeles-based artist Jon Clark — are haphazardly displayed on

MUTANT MEDIA AT SPACE GALLERY Continues through Sun., Nov. 3. 812 Liberty Ave., Downtown. Free. trustarts.org

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shelves like something out of a sad, poorly stocked Goodwill.

To some degree, that’s the point. By highlighting artists working in a DIY aesthetic familiar to the underground punk scene, with its crudely designed zines, band flyers, and screen-printed t-shirts, Mutant Media also recalls spaces formative to that scene — adolescent bedrooms, thrift stores, and even horror aisles at bygone video rental chains, which, for co-curator Joshua Rievel,

is relevant, especially in regards to Clark’s work.

“My attraction to his work is — being in my early 30s, I grew up in the videocassette era where I would go rent whatever crappy horror movie because of the cover,” says Rievel, an artist, musician, and filmmaker who also collects old VHS tapes. “So for me, it’s not even nostalgia. I still live in that world. It’s still very much my reality.”

He curated the show with Jesse

Mutant Media

Hulcher, and together they searched out local and national artists, some of whom had never shown in a gallery before.

Many were discovered on Instagram or Tumblr, including Portland, Ore.-based mask-maker, Genevieve Goran.

“THERE’S SOMETHING I FIND VERY CREEPY ABOUT SOMETHING SO SIMPLE.” For Rievel, the sense of uncanny familiarity is what drew him to artists like local painter John Rogers. “There’s something I find very creepy about something so simple,” says Rievel, pointing at one evocative painting of a large, white van parked in an overgrown patch of woods. While unassuming, it’s a scene that conjures various scenarios, none of them good, especially for generations that grew up in the era of “Stranger Danger” and the Satanic Panic.

Rievel and Hulcher say they took a loose approach to curation, allowing artists to send whatever they wanted without preapproval. For example, Rievel says Goran was free to do whatever she wanted with the collection of latex monster masks she made specifically for the show.

Some artists are more meticulous, like Clark, who constructed an alternate fantasy world of dead media, including

a fake movie that screens in a separate room off of the main gallery. Others are far more casual.

“We definitely represented a lot of artists who are just like, ‘Here’s a thing I drew on an eight and a half-by-eleven sheet of paper and it’s wrinkled and I don’t care,’” says Hulcher.

But while the artists work in a variety of mediums, Hulcher notices one major commonality.

“All these artists are really interested in language,” says Hulcher, adding that, for a visual arts show, there’s a lot of text.

With the exception of Goran, guests are sure to confront works emulating the brash, often ironic scribblings of punk youth (one Rogers painting has the phrase “Honk If You’re Horny” in big, bold letters).

The use of text especially applies to the stark black-and-white comic illustrations of Karissa Sakumoto and the zines of Jason Lee, which lay out, begging to be read. Lee also contributed a series of ink drawings exploring the limited representations of Asian people in media, with images criticizing the hit film Crazy Rich Asians and the treatment of Annyong Bluth on the show Arrested Development, among others.

Even as work like Lee’s takes on heavy topics, it does so with a touch of levity, a quality Hulcher hopes defines the entire exhibition.

“I hope people laugh and see the humor in this stuff and are entertained, and are just sort of in awe of this alternate dimension where people are creating a whole world of media that doesn’t actually exist,” says Hulcher.

•

Follow senior writer Amanda Waltz on Twitter @AWaltzCP PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER AUG. 28-SEPT. 4, 2019

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PHOTOS: REELABILITIES

Gurrumul follows the Aboriginal singer on his journey to stardom

.FILM.

REELABILITIES PITTSBURGH FILM FESTIVAL

BY HANNAH LYNN // HLYNN@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

N

OW IN ITS SEVENTH YEAR, the

ReelAbilities Pittsburgh Film Festival screens nuanced and engaging films about people with physical, mental, and intellectual disabilities.

The festival runs Sept. 4-11 at the SouthSide Works Cinema. All 22 films will be presented with captions, audio descriptions, and ASL interpretation.

Here are City Paper’s takes on two of the films being screened at ReelAbilities.

Gurrumul Before the musical documentary Gurrumul even begins, the audience knows how it will end. The movie opens by stating that its subject, the musician Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu (known most often at Gurrumul), died in 2017.

There is also a note that the filmmakers

got Gurrumul’s permission before he died, and permission from Yolŋu — typically in the Aboriginal culture, the image and voice of the dead are not used publicly. The movie, however, is not about Gurrumul’s death, but his surprising life and career.

Gurrumul was born blind on an island off Australia, living with his Yolŋu people. He didn’t learn Braille or use other tools that assist people with blindness, and his family worried that he would never be independent. But he taught himself to play instruments like the guitar, played upside down since he’s left-handed. But his most notable instrument was his voice, which is described by his producers and fans as singular and angelic. He was extremely quiet, most often having

REELABILITIES Wed., Sept. 4-Sat., Sept.11. filmpittsburghorg

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his white Australian producer and friend Michael Hohnen do the public talking for him. He sometimes sang in English, but mostly sang in Aboriginal languages. Listeners noted that they related to the feeling of his songs, even if they couldn’t understand the lyrics.

Like Gurrumul, the movie is silent much of the time, choosing music and images over interviews and explanation. Gurrumul’s music plays over scenes of ceremonial Yolŋu dances, funerals, and parties. Given the history of white Australians’ racism and subjugation of indigenous Aboriginals, Gurrumul’s appeal is seen as something that can bridge the divide. In Australia, and when he travels to the U.S., he plays for mostly white audiences, and it sometimes feels like their enjoyment is at least partly driven by a sense of novelty.

Still, Gurrumul’s music is undoubtedly moving, and the movie is a heartfelt portrait of a man with a natural-born

Hearts of Glass follows an indoor farm striving to create an inclusive workplace for people with disabilities

talent. His clan gave permission for his image to be used because he was an important enough figure that archiving his life and work was necessary, as told by the people who knew and loved him best.

Gurrumul. 7:30 p.m. Fri., Sept. 6.

SouthSide Works Cinema, 425 Cinema Drive, South Side. $8-12.

Hearts of Glass As technological advances and environmental changes shift the landscape of farming, humans are facing a future of food and farmland shortages that can only be overcome with drastic changes.

Documentary Hearts of Glass follows Vertical Harvest, an indoor hydroponic greenhouse in Jackson Hole, Wyo., as an agricultural and architectural experiment in growing produce in a place that faces long, harsh winters.

While one of Vertical Harvest’s goals is to innovate local farming, equally as prominent is its goal of employing to people with disabilities. The new farm runs into challenges, including mechanical issues that prevent it from

providing produce to local restaurants, as well as honing the job skills of employees with disabilities.

Directed by Jennifer Tennican, Hearts of Glass is more of an educational documentary than anything else, but it’s still an engaging watch. It alternates between following the two challenges of the farm — managing and teaching the employees with disabilities (which comes with the added cost of paying for their job support staff) and troubleshooting the farm’s various issues like eroding metal and molding plants.

It sometimes feels like two separate documentaries: one just about the farm and one just about the employees with disabilities, but that’s also what makes the farm special. The two parts are inseparable from one another because both make up the structure of the farm.

Being a compassionate employer makes them more compassionate farmers, and vice versa.

Hearts of Glass 7 p.m. Mon., Sept 9.

SouthSide Works Cinema, 425 Cinema Drive, South Side. $8-12.

•

Each week, we bring you a list of Pittsburgh’s best dance parties for you and your crew to bust loose to the top bangers, EDM, pop hits, and more. Check pghcitypaper.com every Thursday morning to help you plan your weekend.

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER AUG. 28-SEPT. 4, 2019

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Angie Cruz

PHOTO: ERIKA MORILLO

.LITERATURE.

FEELING SEEN

BY REGE BEHE // CPCONTRIBUTORS@PGHCITYPAPER.COM

A

NGIE CRUZ had personal stories

to tell, but was ambivalent about .writing them as nonfiction. What would her family think about seeing a fictional account of their lives, and some painful memories, in print?

Cruz, an associate professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh, instead focused on fiction, publishing two critically acclaimed novels, Soledad (2001) and Let it Rain Coffee (2006). When Cruz finally used her mother’s story as inspiration for the novel Dominicana (Flatiron), she didn’t recognize herself among her daughter’s characters.

ANGIE CRUZ IN CONVERSATION WITH IRINA REYN Presented by Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures’ Made Local series. 6 p.m. Wed., Sept.18.

Carnegie Library, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland.

Free with registration. pittsburghlectures.org

“She asked me, ‘Who are these people?’”

Cruz laughs. “And I realized that there was this weird desire to be seen in some way in the stories.”

Set in the Dominican Republic and New York City in the mid-1960s, Dominicana features Ana Cancion, who’s only 15 when she reluctantly agrees to wed a man twice her age in order to provide her family with a better life. After marrying Juan Ruiz on New Year’s Eve, 1964, Ana is whisked away to New York City where, instead of getting an education, she is forced to tend to her husband’s needs or face his wrath.

“She’s a very, very quiet person, very timid, introspective,” Cruz says of her mother, who was generally hesitant to talk about her childhood. Cruz wanted to know what life was like under the dictator Rafael Trujillo, who ruled the Dominican Republic between 19301961. What was it like when the U.S. occupied the Dominican Republic in 1965? What was it like to marry a man you didn’t choose?

“She would say, ‘It’s like any other life,’” Cruz says. “The less she wanted to say, the more I became interested in figuring out what that was about. Initially, the journey of writing the novel was a way of being closer to her.”

But the story pivoted during the 10 years it took to complete the book. Even though the novel was inspired by her mother, Cruz used Ana and the other characters to paint a pastiche of Dominican life in New York during the ‘60s: the food, the music, the social life, the families, even the Dominican heroes like baseball players Juan Marichal and the Alou brothers.

Cruz learned these details from the Dominican women in her Washington Heights neighborhood of New York where she grew up in the ‘70s and ‘80s.

“I’ve never really seen their stories reflected in the mainstream media or what people see as New York stories,” Cruz says. “One thing people don’t realize is that almost 10 percent of New York City’s population is Dominican. I’ve watched TV shows and movies set in New York my entire life, and rarely have I seen Dominicans in any of those shows.”

Follow featured contributor Rege Behe on Twitter @RegeBehe_exPTR

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•

Sponsored by

EARLY WARNINGS SPONSORED UPCOMING EVENTS FROM CITY PAPER’S FINE ADVERTISERS

WED., SEPT. 11 JOHN MEDESKI’S MAD SKILLET 7 P.M. ROXIAN THEATRE MCKEES ROCKS. All-ages event. $30-50. 412-331-1050 or roxianlive.com

WED., SEPT. 11 PENN STATE MASTER GARDENERS

SAT., SEPT. 14 RANCID

6 P.M. NORTH PARK ALLISON PARK. Free event. alleghenycounty.us/parks

THU., SEPT. 12 D.R.I. 5:30 P.M. CRAFTHOUSE SOUTH HILLS. Minors must be accompanied by an adult. $13-25.50. 412-653-2695 or ticketfly.com.

THU., SEPT. 12 MAC POWELL AND THE FAMILY REUNION 6 P.M. JERGEL’S RHYTHM GRILLE WARRENDALE. Minors must be accompanied by an adult. $20-77. 724-799-8333 or ticketfly.com.

THU., SEPT. 12 COMEDY SHOWCASE FT. TERRY JONES 8 P.M. THUNDERBIRD CAFÉ & MUSIC HALL LAWRENCEVILLE. 21 and up. $12.

412-331-1050 or roxianlive.com

THU., SEPT. 12 MINNESOTA

THE LOTS AT SANDCASTLE WEST HOMESTEAD

FRI., SEPT. 13 THAT ARENA ROCK SHOW

SUN., SEPT. 15 RECKLESS KELLY

7 P.M. CRAFTHOUSE SOUTH HILLS. Minors must be accompanied by an adult. $15-27.50.

412-653-2695 or ticketfly.com.

7 P.M. THUNDERBIRD CAFÉ & MUSIC HALL LAWRENCEVILLE. 21 and up. $25.

412-331-1050 or roxianlive.com

FRI., SEPT. 13 ANDREW BIRD “MY FINEST WORK YET” 7 P.M. ROXIAN THEATRE MCKEES ROCKS. All-ages event. $39.50-46.

412-331-1050 or roxianlive.com

SAT., SEPT. 14 RANCID 4 P.M. THE LOTS AT SANDCASTLE WEST HOMESTEAD. 21 and up. $39.50-42.50. druskyentertainment.com.

With special guest Pennywise.

7 P.M. ROXIAN THEATRE MCKEES ROCKS. All-ages event. $22-25. 412-331-1050 or roxianlive.com

SAT., SEPT. 14 PITT FLOYD: PITTSBURGH’S TRIBUTE TO PINK FLOYD

FRI., SEPT. 13 JON LANGSTON

7 P.M. THUNDERBIRD CAFÉ & MUSIC HALL LAWRENCEVILLE. 21 and up. $12.

412-331-1050 or roxianlive.com

6 P.M. JERGEL’S RHYTHM GRILLE WARRENDALE. Minors must be accompanied by an adult. $18-30. 724-799-8333 or ticketfly.com.

FRI., SEPT. 13 GROOVIN WITH THE GROVE 3 PRE-PARTY FEAT. JAKOBS FERRY STRAGGLERS 8 P.M. THUNDERBIRD CAFÉ & MUSIC HALL LAWRENCEVILLE. 21 and up. $12.

412-331-1050 or roxianlive.com

SAT., SEPT. 14 NOT ANOTHER D&D PODCAST 7 P.M. REX THEATER SOUTH SIDE. All-ages event. 412-381-1681 or greyareaprod.com.

SUN., SEPT. 15 UGLY GOD 5:30 P.M. CRAFTHOUSE SOUTH HILLS. All-ages event. $25-75. 412-653-2695 or ticketfly.com.

SUN., SEPT. 15 SUPERSUCKERS 20TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR 8 P.M. HARD ROCK CAFE STATION SQUARE. Minors must be accompanied by an adult. $15. 412-481-ROCK or ticketfly.com.

MON., SEPT. 16 68 5:30 P.M. CRAFTHOUSE SOUTH HILLS. All-ages event. $13-25.50.

412-653-2695 or ticketfly.com.

MON., SEPT. 16 BERLIN 6 P.M. JERGEL’S RHYTHM GRILLE WARRENDALE. Minors must be accompanied by an adult. $27-42. 724-799-8333 or ticketfly.com.

SAT., SEPT. 14 DIVERSE CONTAINERS, UNIQUE BOTANY

TUE., SEPT. 17 BILLY COBHAM’S CROSSWINDS PROJECT FEAT. RANDY BRECKER

2 P.M. DEMONSTRATION GARDEN POLLINATOR SITE. Free event. alleghenycounty.us/parks

7 P.M. ROXIAN THEATRE MCKEES ROCKS. All-ages event. $25-40.

412-331-1050 or roxianlive.com

FOR UPCOMING ALLEGHENY COUNTY PARKS EVENTS, LOG ONTO WWW.ALLEGHENYPARKS.COM PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER AUG. 28-SEPT. 4, 2019

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SEVEN DAYS OF ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT

^ Sun., Sept. 4: Hiromi Katayama: Currents of Color

THURSDAY AUG. 29 PARTY To support its School Gardens program, the urban farming nonprofit Grow Pittsburgh will host the Garden Get Down. The party will feature ciders from Threadbare, cocktails from Wigle Whiskey, and food from some of the top chefs in

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the city. Proceeds from the event will help the School Gardens program — which has set up gardens at 33 schools — expand to another 25 schools. 5-8 p.m., 6587 Hamilton Ave., East Liberty. $35. 21+. growpittsburgh.org

ART Want to learn how to paint? Do you also like dancing to the best R&B, rap, and trap music from local artists?

BOOM Concepts combines the two with

the TRAP + PAINT class by Art Trap.

An artist will teach guests how to paint on canvas in the two-hour session while playing music from locals like Benji., livefromthecity, and the late Jimmy Wopo. Games, prizes, and drinks will also be available throughout the evening.

7-10 p.m. 5139 Penn Ave., Garfield. $20. eventbrite.com

FILM Filmmakers Corner returns to the WQED

Studio with Spring Shorts. In the past, the movie night series screened selections from George A. Romero and other Pittsburgh-based filmmakers.

The latest edition of the event will feature different short films and a special cut from documentarian Rick Sebak’s Nebby series. There will also be goodies from the Pittsburgh Smokehouse food truck and local filmmakers on-hand to answer questions. 10 p.m. 4802 Fifth Ave., Oakland. Free. wqed.org

PHOTO: FIRST ANGEL MEDIA

^ Sat., Aug. 31: Abstract Theory at Under the Bridge

FRIDAY

AUG. 30 FILM Set in Tasmania in 1825, The Nightingale is a drama that follows a young Irish convict who is on the hunt for the British officer who brutalized her family. To help her quest for revenge, she enlists an Aboriginal tracker to assist in navigating the wilderness. The film, directed by Jennifer Kent, is noted for its extremely graphic depictions of rape and murder, so you should know that before going to see it at Harris Theater. Showtimes vary. 809 Liberty Ave., Downtown. cinema.pfpca.org

LECTURE Early in the morning, before coffee pots get percolating in offices across the country, creatives are congregating in hip spaces for a free breakfast and a lecture series from local influencers, advocates, and specialists. In Pittsburgh, past speakers at Creative Mornings have included activist Leon Ford, writer Damon Young, and Casa San Jose advocate Monica Ruiz, at locations that include Carnegie Museum of Art, Ace Hotel Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh Glass Center. Today, state representative Summer Lee joins local creatives at City of Asylum’s Alphabet City, as part of a nationwide series on justice. Sure, coffee is a great way to

start your morning. But words of advice from a notable local leader and free coffee? Hard to beat. 8:30-10 a.m.

40 W. North Ave., North Side. Free with registration. creativemornings.com

Ranked #1 Best Party Rentals in Pittsburgh

SCIENCE Remember going to science fairs at school as a kid and some projects were cool, like volcanoes, but a lot of them were boring, like studying soil samples? Well, the Science Fair at Glitter Box Theater isn’t for school, it’s for fun, so all of the projects are cool. Hear readings about “badasss female scientists” from Jude Vachon, see a performance from scientific storyteller Dr. Sparks, and ogle a collection of neat experiments. 7:30 p.m. 460 Melwood Ave., Oakland. $1. theglitterboxtheater.com

DANCE The local dance group slowdanger, noted for using electronic instrumentation and vocalization to bring its performances to life, will debut empathy machine at Kelly Strayhorn Theatre. The full-length, multidisciplinary work will feature six on-stage performers, presented in collaboration with ProjectileObjects LED Light ring and computational artist Char Stiles. The performance is described as intended to “explore intimacy and empathy, and question the social constructs surrounding these ideas.”

8 p.m. 5941 Penn Ave., East Liberty. $20. slowdangerslowdanger.com CONTINUES ON PG. 42

2326 Babcock Blvd. Pittsburgh, PA 15237 • 412-931-4972 or 724-776-0680 PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER AUG. 28-SEPT. 4, 2019

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CALENDAR, CONTINUED FROM PG. 41

PHOTO: MELISSA WALLACE

^ Wed., Sept. 4: Broadway at the Overlook

SATURDAY

a bunch of people getting together to eat good food, listen to good music, light floating lanterns and set them out onto the water. A lantern-building kit and marker for writing a message is included in the ticket price, so you can commemorate, memorialize, or make a wish as your paper Viking sails away. And if that sounds ecologically inconsiderate, it’s not: Water Lantern Festival is a leave-no-trace event and ensures all lanterns are collected and disposed of properly. 5:30 p.m. W. Ohio St., North Side. $25-40. waterlanternfestival. com/pittsburgh.php

AUG. 31 PARTY

Summer tends to spoil Pittsburghers with an embarrassment of outdoor parties, which is far from a bad thing, but it means we tend to forget how indoors most of us are for the rest of the year.

Take advantage of summer’s remaining parties with the Hilltop with the Lid Off neighborhood party. Crafted Sounds hosts live music at re360’s warehouse, with performances by The Zells, BJORDAN, Trace Remains, and BBGuns; G-WIZ of Vinyl Remains will be spinning throughout the day. While Hilltop will also have the always welcome food trucks (Pub Chip Shop, Della Terra), beer (East End Brewing and Burgh’ers), art (Roadkill Gallery and more), this Pittsburgh party will also host a mobile skatepark courtesy of Troika Skateboards, so bring your board and elbow pads.

12 p.m. 829 Industry St., Allentown. Free. hilltopwiththelidoff.com

FEST Creative collective Three Rivers Circus is bringing an all-day, 10-hour music and arts fest to Homestead. Under the Bridge, held under the Homestead Grays Bridge,

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SUNDAY SEPT. 1 FEST ^ Sat., Aug. 31: Water Lantern Festival

will feature 10 local musicians, including Abstract Theory, The Summercamp, Sierra Sellers, and Kiwano Sour. Spend the day listening to local jams, shopping vendors, and skating at this all-ages, free festival. Food trucks will be on-site, along with alcohol served by Blue Dust. 12 p.m.

Homestead Grays Bridge, 100 E. Seventh Ave, Homestead. Free. Search “Under the Bridge” on Facebook

FEST It’s not just a catchy name, Water Lantern Festival delivers exactly what it promises:

Celebrate Pittsburgh’s first AfricanAmerican leaders in the food industry at the inaugural End of Summer Soul Food Fest: A Soulful Taste of the Burgh.

The event honors Black business owners, who paved the way for those who will follow them. Head down to Market Square on the holiday for live music, vendors, speakers, contests, and more.

1 p.m. Market Square, Downtown. Free.

Search “End of Summer Soul Food Fest: a Soulful Taste of the Burgh” on Facebook.

PHOTO: IFC FILMS

^ Fri., Aug. 30: The Nightingale

MONDAY

WEDNESDAY

SEPT. 2

SEPT. 4

SCIENCE

EVENT

Since 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has been providing scientists with groundbreaking photography. Walk through some of these images with Zolt Levy, a photographer involved with missions at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, as part of the Carnegie Science Center’s Café Scientifique series. Levy, who is now focusing on personal photography, has worked with the telescope mission for 35 years, translating data into images and graphics. 7 p.m. Carnegie Science Center, 1 Allegheny Ave., North Side. Free. carnegiesciencecenter.org

TUESDAY SEPT. 3 ART Japanese-born artist Hiromi Katayama creates her paintings using Nihonga, a traditional Japanese painting technique that has evolved over one thousand years.

She even goes as far as importing Japanese traditional pigments and animal-based, collagen glue. Her vibrant works — most of which are painted on wooden panels or paper — focus on nature, particularly cherry blossoms.

Her exhibition of these works, Hiromi Katayama: Currents of Color, is open to visitors on the second floor of BoxHeart Gallery. 5-8 p.m. Continues through Fri., Oct. 4. 4523 Liberty Ave., Bloomfield.

Free. hiromikatayama.com

As part of a nationwide event, people in more than 45 cities will join together to protest the actions taken by the Trump administration against migrants at the U.S. southern border.

Pittsburgh is joining that effort with a Writers for Migrant Justice event that will feature immigrant writers and activists Kim Sousa, Malcolm Friend, Adriana Ramírez, and Tanya Shirazi.

The Pittsburgh lineup collectively represents the diaspora from Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico, all coming to America for opportunity. White Whale Bookstore will host the gathering with the goal of raising $500 in Pittsburgh, and $5,000 nationally. 7-9 p.m. 4754 Liberty Ave., Bloomfield. Donations accepted. whitewhalebookstore.com

STAGE Get a sneak peek of Pittsburgh Musical Theater’s 2019/2020 season the way the theater gods intended: at the West End Overlook while munching on light snacks. At Broadway at the Overlook, professional and student performers will share scenes from upcoming shows, such as Hair, Twelfth Night, Rock of Ages, Bye Bye Birdie, and more. If you’re jonesin’ for some outdoors time and can’t wait until the proverbial curtains are drawn, picnickers are welcome to post up at 6 p.m. 7:30 p.m. Continues through Sun., Sept. 8. Elliot Overlook, Marlow St., West End. Free. pittsburhgmusicals.com • PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER AUG. 28-SEPT. 4, 2019

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PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER

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NAME CHANGE

NAME CHANGE

NAME CHANGE

NAME CHANGE

IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD-19-3581, In re petition of Armond Gambrell, for change of name to Amond Millender. To all persons interested: Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the filing of said petition and fixed the 9th day of September, 2019, at 9:45 a.m., as the time and the Motions Room, City-County Building, Pittsburgh, PA, as the place for a hearing, when and where all persons may show cause, if any they have, why said name should not be changed as prayed for

IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD-19-10675. In re petition of Heather Marie Groelsema for change of name to Jade Calluna Groelsema. To all persons interested: Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the filing of said petition and fixed the 24th day of September, 2019, at 9:45 a.m., as the time and the Motions Room, City-County Building, Pittsburgh, PA, as the place for a hearing, when and where all persons may show cause, if any they have, why said name should not be changed as prayed for

IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD19 6046. In re petition of Dylan Kelly Depaul for change of name to Dylan Kelly Lindsay To all persons interested: Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the filing of said petition and fixed the 23rd day of July, 2019, at 9:45 a.m., as the time and the Motions Room, City-County Building, Pittsburgh, PA, as the place for a hearing, when and where all persons may show cause, if any they have, why said name should not be changed as prayed for

IN The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania: No. GD-19-10765. In re petition of Jenna Lynn Snowe for change of name to Jay Forrest Snowe. To all persons interested: Notice is hereby given that an order of said Court authorized the filing of said petition and fixed the 25th day of September, 2019, at 9:45 a.m., as the time and the Motions Room, City-County Building, Pittsburgh, PA, as the place for a hearing, when and where all persons may show cause, if any they have, why said name should not be changed as prayed for

LET S GET ’

S CIAL )ROORZ XV WR ƓQG RXW ZKDWōV KDSSHQLQJ @PGHCITYPAPER Ř FACEBOOK.COM/PITTSBURGHCITYPAPER 44

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FALL INTERNS WANTED Pittsburgh City Paper is now accepting applications for fall internships, from Sept. 1-Dec. 31. Each internship includes a small stipend. No calls, please.

NEWS REPORTING INTERN The fall news reporting intern will pitch and write stories for both print and online, as well as assist news reporters with research and fact-checking. Basic writing and reporting experience required. Previous work in student media strongly encouraged. Please send résumé, cover letter, and samples to Ryan Deto, ryandeto@pghcitypaper.com. Internship includes small stipend.

PHOTO INTERN We are looking for a student photojournalist with an artistic eye who can tell a story through images. Editorial work will include shooting news, music, and arts, both for print and online. Weekend availability is required. Prior student newspaper work and an outgoing personality a plus. Send a résumé and a link to an online portfolio to Jared Wickerham, jwickerham@pghcitypaper.com.

OLD TOWN ROWS

BY BRENDAN EMMETT QUIGLEY // WWW.BRENDANEMMETTQUIGLEY.COM

ACROSS 1. Soprano’s upper limit 6. Took things the wrong way 11. Stout alternative 14. Arm of the sea 15. 1961 John Updike short story featuring three girls in bathing suits 16. TLC provider 17. Old town row #1 20. Fix, as torn clothing 21. Apartments in a complex 22. TV’s Wonder Woman Carter 23. Shrewdly tricky 24. “I’m a big ___” 25. Old town row #2 34. “See you, mon frere” 35. New York magazine puzzle maker Cathy 36. Marvel Entertainment CEO Perlmutter 37. “I shit you not” 38. “Straight Up” singer Paula 39. Transport to some moguls 40. WSW’s opp.

41. More sick (probably not more cool, nobody says that anymore) 42. Won all the games in a series 43. Old town row #3 46. Bear in a Barcelona baby book 47. Crossed (out) 48. Party spot of the

23. “Go back to the original text” 24. Big bomb 25. Places one can get a latte and hang out for hours on their laptop 26. “A Bell For ___” 27. Pulverized, as potatoes 28. Roof feature 29. Higher-up?

30. Photos by those who cannot take photos, e.g.

31. Media no-no 32. Safari animal with striped legs 1. Wolfram|Alpha results 33. Quaint “nonsense” 38. Maker of T-Bonz 2. Clarifying phrase BBQ Pork Dog Treats in memos 39. Like line drawings 3. Beam 4. “Look at me” 5. Cosmic mystical creature created by H. P. Lovecraft 6. Bollywood cover up 7. Diplomat’s gift 8. Large burden 9. The, uh ... (checks notes) bad cholesterol, for short 10. Green testing spots 11. “Preach it!”

12. Booming 13. “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” actress Nelson 18. Single-named Irish New Age singer 19. Abbr. with the zip code 10001

Balearic Islands 51. Fruit tree with purplish flowers 54. Nervous movement?

57. Old town row #4 60. Miller’s container 61. Job’s comforter, in the Bible 62. Eel often served as kabayaki 63. Caboose 64. It is enharmonically equivalent to C major 65. Launch, as a smartphone app

DOWN

41. “My hero!”

42. Rattle off 44. Let out goopily 45. Big test 48. Machu Picchu resident 49. Media no-no (supposedly) 50. Letters in the country?

51. “The Amazing Race” host Keoghan 52. Turkish title 53. Sulky look 54. Golf bunker 55. “Othello” antagonist 56. What a flavor saver points to 58. Frolicker of fantasy 59. Genetic strand LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER AUG. 28-SEPT. 4, 2019

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PEEPSHOW A sex and social justice column

BY JESSIE SAGE // PEEPSHOWCAST@GMAIL.COM

W

HEN I WAS growing up,

every year on her birthday, my grandmother would declare that she was once again 39.

What this taught me as a child was that growing older was so terrible that we had to pretend that it didn’t happen. While it may be outrageous to pretend to be 39 for decades on end, my grandmother’s fear of aging was not irrational. In a culture that pushes our seniors to the margins, rendering them invisible, it is no wonder that she actively resisted this process. This marginalization is particularly noticeable in the realm of sexuality. While we may obsess about sex in our culture, all of our sexual representations lead us to believe that sex is only for the young.

Author and sex educator Joan Price is working to undo these misconceptions and normalize senior sex in a series of books and workshops. Most recently, she collaborated with sex educator and porn star Jessica Drake to create a sexually explicit instructional video: Jessica Drake’s Guide to Wicked Sex: Senior Edition, which premiered last week at the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Summit. In the instructional video, the stars of the film are seniors and are shown having sex the way they would if a camera were not there. In Price’s words, “They are having real, old, naked people sex.”

After screening the film, I had a

PHOTO: RAE THREAD

Joan Price and Jessica Drake

chance to sit down and talk with Price about her work as an advocate for ageless sexuality, a conversation you can listen to in full on an upcoming episode of the Peepshow Podcast.

Price talks frankly about the way that our bodies change as we age, and the impact this has on our sex lives. Put simply, she says, “The old ways don’t work the way they used to anymore.”

Price believes it is a mistake, how-

ever, to assume this means that a pleasurable sex life is over. Instead, she says that recognizing what is different about senior sex is a step toward a good sex life in later years. First, she says, “Erections are not always dependable, they are not always hard enough for penetration.” Moreover, “Vaginas are not always as comfortable to accept penetration.” Letting go of this expectation opens up the way for other types of

sex, though. She comments, “[Seniors] are not counting on rock hard erections, that doesn’t even matter.”

She also points out that as we age, we may need “more build up to achieve arousal and more arousal to achieve orgasm.” For this reason, sex toys may be become really important. “We need more stimulation than we can get by hands, fingers, or tongues alone,” Price says. “Sex toys can be the difference between orgasm or no orgasm.”

Even more important than sex toys is being able to communicate what feels good and what doesn’t. “You need to be able to give feedback, you need to be able to say, ‘I don’t think my knees can handle this position,’” says Price. “Communication is so much a part of this.”

Though I have passed my 39th birthday, I am still far from my senior years and have yet to deal with some of the sexual issues that seniors face.

However, the advice that Price gives is broadly applicable to all people: communicate your desires with your partner; let go of expectations of what you are supposed to be doing sexually and embrace what actually feels good to you; be open to your own changing body and desires (and that of your partner’s); and take the sexuality of all people, regardless of age, seriously. The film, and Price’s work more broadly, are beautiful representations of all of these lessons.

•

JESSIE SAGE IS CO-HOST OF THE PEEPSHOW PODCAST AT PEEPSHOWPODCAST.COM. HER COLUMN PEEPSHOW IS EXCLUSIVE TO PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER. FOLLOW HER ON TWITTER @PEEP_CAST.

Too embarrassed to ask your friends about a sexual position?

Want to know what it’s really like to work in the sex industry?

Jessie Sage wants to hear from you! Submit a question for a chance to get it answered in an upcoming column.

Email your question to info@pghcitypaper.com with “Ask Jessie” in the subject line. (All questions will be kept confidential.)

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